Cheap Lenovo ThinkPad W530 FHD 1920 x 1080 243857U 15.6" 2.70GHz

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List Price: $1,699.00
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This is my second Lenovo that I've owned and my 4th counting work laptops. I've used just about every brand of laptop, and I keep coming back to Lenovo, Toshiba, and Compaq (the compaq branded hps). I've had good luck with all of them. The rest I pass on. I use Linux and FreeBSD mostly. Not much of a Windows user here. I'm also a kvm user. The W530 is a good machine. The only issues I have are the keyboard isn't quite as good as the T61p's nor is the touch pad. My hands have a tendency to brush the touch pad while typing.

If you're looking for a solid machine, the W530 will serve well. It needs only a memory upgrade from the standard 4GB. With 4 memory slots, (2 under keyboard and 2 under bottom cover), it has the space for considerable memory upgrades. I installed 2 8GB sticks bringing the machine to 20GB which fit nicely under the very easy to remove keyboard. As you might have guessed, I run Linux on this beast.

For Linux fans, I run CentOS 6.4 64bit. It installs easily and smoothly. Wifi works, camera works, sound is smooth. All the systems I've tested work as expected. About the only thing I haven't tested is bluetooth and external video. The quadro K2000M video card works well on the open source driver for nvidia.

For FreeBSD fans, yes I have booted the machine on FreeBSD 9.1 64bit. It installs easily as well and runs smoothly too. I didn't test it quite as much. Geom disk encryption did use the onboard TPM module reporting hardware encryption enabled and ZFS was quite happy.

This machine is a solid performer under Linux and should be equally so under FreeBSD. A note of caution: Lenovo's tools are Windows based and many retailers won't deal with laptop issues if the hdd doesn't have Windows on it. I highly recommend either storing the Windows partitions somewhere easily restored to the hdd or install a different hdd and put the Windows one in an antistatic bag. It's a rather curious thing consider Lenovo does state they support Linux on their laptops.

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I am a super user when it comes to computers and laptops. I have APPLE (MacBook Air) DELL, and legacy IBM thinkpads (including the W700DS). This computer is really a nice blend of size and power. It lets me do all the hard core stuff I need to do while coming in an nice form factor. I feel like it is the perfect blend between a macbook air and W700DS.

Best Deals for Lenovo ThinkPad W530 FHD 1920 x 1080 243857U 15.6" 2.70GHz

As the owner of a w500 previously, jumping up 4 years later, these W530's are as solid as it's predecessor. Solid performance in all aspects. i7 chip and the option of adding the cache gives you the best performance without having to go to a solid state drive. Although moving to a solid state SATA III makes it simply amazing with a 7.0 performance index, with no exaggeration. Make sure you buy a seat belt to go with the drive upgrade. Outstanding laptop, not cheap, but it's like when you buy a car, all cars are not created equal and I'd place this up there in the Cadillac class.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad W530 FHD 1920 x 1080 243857U 15.6" 2.70GHz

Having used ThinkPad (mostly T series and some X series) for more than a decade, I was a little disappointed with my last Thinkpad T500, which was my first one after Lenovo took over. It recently develop overheating problem and I couldn't solve it other than having a fan pointing at it. I know it's time to upgrade to a new laptop, but in the past, I've never upgraded a ThinkPad because it broke; I upgraded because they became outdated for running new software.

So, this time, the first things I looked for was from other brands than Lenovo, but I still ended up with ThinkPad after reading extensive reviews and trying out other brands. Since I am a power user, I decided to pick a W series this time, and I chose it also because the W series is now only the size and weight of previous T series.

So far it's functioning like a workhorse. Quiet and handing multitasking and video editing without problem. I was shopping for less than full HD because full HD makes the fonts too small to read on a 15.6" screen. Considering the price and value, I ended up with a full HD, which should not be something to complain about. If you are young and have good eyes, I would recommend it. As for me, I have to put on my reading glasses.

So, this W530 is everything a workstation notebook is supposed to be, except two things to complain about. The first complaint is about the accessory keys being moved around to strange places. (The main keys, however, continue the ThinkPad's high reputation; very comfortable to type.) The delete key is too far away now. I don't know why with every model, ThinkPad would move these important utility keys around. The Print Screen keys is now in between the left and right arrow keys. I don't know why they put it in such a convenient place; do people use Print Screen all the time? The screen brightness adjustment keys are in a place where you cannot easily get used to. A 15.6" inch laptop has a lot of real state for keys. Asus' 15.6" laptop even has a full numeric keypad on it. Just can't understand why ThinkPad would skimp on keys.

My major complain is the huge charger brick. The size and weight of it is not I expected in today's technology. Looking at the brick, I feel I am brought back ten years. Maybe it's necessary to power a "workstation." I am traveling next week (from Coast to Coast), and I am looking forward to take my new W530 with me, but I am not looking forward to carry the power brick. Yap, I deducted one star mainly for the power brick, and partly for the arrangement of the accessory keys.

I hope this system will last until it become outdated, and not die on me. So far it's running fast and very quietly!